Opinion: How much is badge value worth?

BMW Motorrad’s pricing strategy in India is unlike any other. On the one hand, much of their big bike line-up is priced amazingly well. The new 850 GS range starting at Rs 12.5 lakh (ex-showroom) is about Rs 3 lakh cheaper than any other rival. Other icons like the 1250 GS and S 1000 RR range have maintained their prices over the last two years as well, despite all the madness that has happened in the world since.

Every rival manufacturer I speak to about BMW’s prices says that they are impossible to match; and that they have no answer as to how BMW can achieve such prices on imported motorcycles. The only logical answer is that BMW’s thriving car business is allowing the company to subsidise the Motorrad division, which is miniscule in comparison.

While BMW’s imported model range gets more and more tempting as others are forced to constantly raise their prices, the same cannot be said about the locally manufactured motorcycles. The 310cc BMWs made by TVS at Hosur have had a more tumultuous history, which began in 2018. When first launched in India, these bikes were massively overpriced and were already quite dated, having been on sale internationally for a couple of years. It was no surprise that dealers were offering big discounts about a year later as the BS6 deadline approached.

In 2020, better sense prevailed and the updated BMW 310s were launched with a significant price drop, which made them far more appealing. All this while though, the BMW 310s stood out from their platform sibling, the TVS Apache RR 310. So even though the BMWs weren’t as well equipped, they had their own identity and could justify a price that equaled or slightly exceeded the TVS. That has now changed with the new G 310 RR, which represents a new dynamic in the BMW-TVS relationship.

By now, it’s common knowledge that BMW’s latest bike is effectively a TVS RR 310 with new paint and a BMW graphic on the TFT screen. This is the first time that BMW and TVS have sold the same motorcycle and that puts BMW in an awkward position because the TVS is clearly the better deal. For Rs 20,000 less than the base BMW (Rs 34,000 less than the Style Sport paint scheme), the TVS offers you Bluetooth connectivity and vastly superior Michelin Road 5 tyres. Pay Rs 12,000 more and you could have the TVS with adjustable suspension, while another Rs 5,000 will get you racier clip-on handlebars and rear-set foot pegs. None of those are an option on the BMW. And, of course, there’s TVS’ relatively huge dealer network and more affordable service costs to consider as well.

This is the second time that BMW’s pricing is turning out to be a window into the psyche of the Indian motorcycle customer. This time around, the experiment will reveal just how important badge vanity is in the premium motorcycle space - and just how much people will be willing to pay/sacrifice to flaunt said badge. Having a BMW badge on the key and bodywork certainly brings bragging rights that some folks will be happy to pay for. The question is how many? I’m intrigued.

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